Five Plus One Code: Lyoko
by Mel11597
Summary: Jeremie, Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich and Odd aren't the only ones that are Lyoko Warriors. Meet Clementine Glenn, a spunky, hotheaded redhead that also joins the team on the wild ride of going to Lyoko and saving the day.
1. (S1 E1) Teddygodzilla

Tamiya Diop adjusted a clunky hand camera in her hand. "Okay, we rolling?" Tamiya was a fifth grader, training to be a cameraman- er, camerawoman- for the Kadic News Crew. She wore a yellow, long-sleeved, belly shirt with green khakis and white shoes. A black undershirt covered her midriff.

Clementine Glenn chuckled, an older ginger with curly hair swept up in a messy ponytail and a star shaped clip holding up her bangs. She had a red vest over an orange polo with puffy short sleeves and white collar. White capri pants and black flats complimented her look. "You've got the camera upside down, silly. Here, let me just-" She took the camera and flipped it. "Okay, you ace reporters are ready to go!" She said and gave her two underclassmen a thumbs up.

Amelia "Milly" Solovieff giggled. Milly was also a fifth grader trainee for the Kadic News Crew as the news anchor. She wore a pink cardigan over a maroon dress with brown leggings and boots. "Thanks, Clem! You're the best mentor ever!" She cleared her throat and launched into her report.

"Hello, fellow students of Kadic Junior High. Your ace reporters, Milly and Tamiya-" Clementine gave her a wink and another thumbs up "-are here to bring you an exclusive for today's school news and it's really big, since as I'm pretty sure you already know, tonight is the big night: the night of our annual school prom!" Clementine motioned for the girls to come over to where her friends-Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, and Jeremie-were inside the auditorium where the party was going to be held. When she motioned her hand, Tamiya continued filming.

"Unfortunately, our cameras weren't authorized to film the site where the festivities will take place," Milly lamented to the camera. Clementine just shook her head and playfully rolled her eyes, a knowing smile playing on her lips. She remembered when they were denied to film the auditorium by Ulrich, causing Milly to blush bright red. The poor girl had a crush on the sporty boy ever since she and Tamiya had joined Journalism. She had wanted to talk to him, at least, but even the thought of saying hi to him would only cause the little redhead to start sputtering.

"But I can make out, from where I'm speaking, the girl who might be crowned our beauty queen tonight just as she was last year. I mean, of course, our principal's daughter Sissi." At this Clementine had to hold back a snarl, but she had to set a role model to her underclassmen. A reporter had to be unbiased, no matter what they were talking about. "Let's see whether she'll answer a few questions." Milly turned to face the one and only queen bee of Kadic Junior High: Elisabeth "Sissi" Delmas. "Well, Sissi, how about a few words for our TV audience before the big night?"

Sissi gave an annoyed look at the trio before answering. "Sorry, munchkins. I only talk to real pro reporters. I have no time to waste on a couple of nerds." Herve was about to tamper with the camera Tamiya was holding when Clementine snarled at the weaselly nerd, a fist raised, challenging him to make another move. He squeaked before running back to Sissi's side.

Milly began to protest. "But it's for the school news program! What about freedom of the press-"

"Milly, little dipsticks your age don't have freedom, understand? Anyway, who needs your dumb recording, what do you know?" Sissi smirked.

Clementine quickly stepped in front of Milly, who was already looking ready to cry. "Hey, quit talking to my reporters like that, you jerk, they're only doing their job. Be nice to them or else you'll be meeting my fist." She raised her right fist to prove her point.

Sissi wrinkled her nose, unimpressed. "Don't you even dare, you freak. This has nothing to do with you." She turned to Milly. "Besides, you've got a problem. Don't forget you have to have a date to go and I don't know who'd want to go with a shrimp like you."

"You're really asking for it, aren't ya, Sissi," Clementine growled, clenching her fists in an attempt to control herself. She was about to step forward but stopped when her heard her fellow reporter's trembling voice, "So what? I can get a date, you'll see!"

"Oh, yeah, then what are you waiting for? Try and find someone!" She taunted the poor girl and laughed. Clementine turned and motioned for the girls to follow her. "Tch, don't listen to her, she's just sayin' that to get under your skin, let's go-" She stopped when she heard Milly's meek voice. "Uh, um, Ulrich? Would you be my date tonight?" She quickly asked, her voice rushed and tears brimming in her eyes.

Everyone was surprised, especially the boy in question. Clementine glanced at her friend group inside the auditorium, uneasy as everyone awaited for the answer.

"Uh... I'm sorry, Milly. It wouldn't be a very good idea. I'm too old for you," Ulrich awkwardly stuttered, a bright blush growing on his face. "And, uh, well, you see, I promised to go with Yumi." The aforementioned girl, a girl with short black hair and black clothes, made eye contact with Ulrich and they both blushed. _Oh no, this is gonna kill Milly, knowing that her crush is going with someone else..._ Clementine thought, biting her thumb nail.

A nasty laugh brought everyone's attention back to hallway. "You see? What did I tell you? Oh, but don't worry, Milly. I'm sure you'll find a boy for the sandbox dance," Sissi continued to taunt. Tamiya narrowed her eyes and frowned at the queen bee, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Meanwhile why don't you play with your dolls?"

That was the last straw for Milly; she ran out of the building in tears, loud sobs fading away. Tamiya soon chased after her, calling her name.

Clementine pushed against Sissi's shoulder and got close to her face. "I bet your real proud of yourself. You made an underclassman cry." She turned her head to find Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd standing in the hall. "I'll go find her, don't worry," Clementine promised as she turned and ran outside to find her friend, maroon backpack in tow.

* * *

After several minutes of searching, Tamiya and Clementine finally found Milly holed up in her dorm room, hugging a worn out teddy bear. "Oh, Milly, don't cry. We'll go to the prom, you'll see," Tamiya reassured her friend, entering the room. She nudged at the stuffed bear into her arms. "Yeah, and for the news, Jim said it was okay. We have till 9 o'clock to work on it," added Clementine, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's a waste of time!" Milly cried, her voice cracking. She hugged her bear even tighter. "Better face the facts, Clem, thanks to me they don't care about us or the newscast. I hate them, all of them! I hate every single one of them! I hate everyone in the world!"

Clementine frowned and extended her hand to her friend's shoulder. "Hey, don't say that, you know that's not true-" Milly suddenly dashed out the door with her teddy bear in hand and tears fresh in her eyes. "Oh stop it, you two, I'm sick of you guys too, so just leave me alone!" Tamiya and Clementine stood at the doorway, watching their poor friend go. The smaller girl sighed. "It's true, Ulrich could've been nicer." Clementine could only nod in agreement.

Not too far away, though, a computer beeped alive, a red insignia on the monitor.

* * *

Clementine and Tamiya looked for Milly once again, through the courtyard and in classrooms.

"Milly! Milly! Where are you?" Clementine hollered, hands around her mouth to project her voice. "She couldn't have gone too far, could she?" Tamiya shrugged.

They had expanded their search to the woods outside of the school, calling her name. Tamiya finally found her inside a shabby warehouse. They tapped on the glass and shouted Milly's name. Inside, Clementine could see that Milly was saying something to her bear.

"Are you finished sulking? We gotta hurry, we have work to do!" Tamiya shouted. Milly shouted back at her, "Okay, okay, I'm coming." The door to the warehouse opened with a creak. "Ya feelin' better?" Clementine asked, giving her a light pat on the back. The pigtailed girl nodded simply. "Now, we have a report on the prom to finish. Let's hop to it!" Clementine continued, clapping her hands. "Okay, Clem," the two girls mumbled in agreement.

When the trio reached school grounds, there was a crowd of kids surrounding something. "Huh? What all the commotion about?" pondered Clementine aloud. "Let's go check it out!" Milly exclaimed, clearly in a better mood than before. The three rushed up to find a crying Sissi wrapped up in a robe and being hugged by her father, the principal.

"Move along, back to your dorms. Everything is just fine," he reassured the students. Milly dug around in Clementine's bag until she found a notepad and a camera. She tossed the camera to Tamiya as she commented, "Looks as if we've got ourselves a super scoop, Clem!" She began to scribble away on her notepad.

"Yeah, I wonder what's gotten her so shaken up," Tamiya said out loud as she clicked away on her camera.

"Yeah, I wonder..." Clementine's attention drifted to Ulrich, Yumi, Odd and Jeremie, who stood together away from the crowd. She wondered what they had to say about the situation.

"What do you say that we take a look to make sure that our old friend XANA isn't behind this?" she could hear Jeremie muse as she approached them.

"Well, as an ace reporter," Clementine spoke, finally coming to a stop in front of them. "I think I have every right to investigate the crime scene." A mischievous grin grew on her face. "Shall we?"

* * *

When the group peered into Sissi's room, it was a total wreck. Hair products were scattered across the floor along with clothes, shoes, and bed sheets. The computer on her desk was fried along with other electric appliances.

Clementine turned to Jeremie. "What do you think happened here?"

"A simple short circuit." He pointed towards an electrical outlet where several appliances were fried black. "Too many appliances plugged in at the same time."

"Yeah, the highlights, lady shaver, the curling iron," Yumi added. "All plugged in at once, what do you expect?" She turned and walked away from the disaster site.

Everyone else followed suit, except for Jeremie and Clementine, who continued to look on at the scene. "I dunno, Mister J, do you really think that a short circuit really caused all of this?" She waved her hand at Sissi's room.

"Well, if it isn't that, then maybe it could be... an attack, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions yet," he replied. With that the blonde genius turned and left while Clementine continued to look on. Suddenly she felt a nudge on her shoulder.

"Oh, sorry, Clem!" Milly and Tamiya had suddenly materialized right next to her.

Clementine stepped aside to let the girls have a full view of the disaster in Sissi's room. "Oh, that's okay," Clementine absentmindedly murmured. She continued to ponder about the situation as Tamiya snapped away photos and Milly scribbled on the notepad.

* * *

"Are we all done here, you two?" Clementine finally stood from the spot she was sitting in and stretched her arms to the sky. Her two under classmates nodded eagerly, clearly in a better mood than before.

"Okay, then, let's go! Off to the presses!" Clementine headed to door when Milly gasped. "Oh, no! My teddy bear! I left it in the storage room!"

"Let's go get it before we publish the story, then!" Tamiya agreed. "Can we, Clem, please?"

Clem scratched her head. "I dunno, girls. We gotta get this published before tonight and-"

The two girls clasped their hands together and made puppy dog eyes. "Pleeease?"

The older ginger sighed in defeat. These girls were going to be the death of her.

* * *

The trio trekked through the forest as they chatted. "This scoop is gonna be the best! Not only do we have a report for tonight, but Sissi is also gonna totally humiliated!" Milly clapped her hands glee. She skipped a few paces ahead of Tamiya and Clementine.

"After what she did to you, she deserves it," Tamiya agreed. She nodded her head solemnly.

Clementine sighed once again. "Well, if we wanna publish the story, then we should hurry up."

"If you ask me, she had it coming," Milly continued.

The older girl furrowed her eyebrows together. "I couldn't agree with you more," she mumbled darkly.

Finally, the warehouse came into view. Milly rushed up to it and pushed the door open. The door swiveled open to find...

"My teddy bear, it's gone!" cried Milly. Suddenly a large shadow loomed over the trio, obscuring the light. "Aha! Caught you!" All three girls froze in their tracks at once, knowing who's voice that belonged to: Jim, their gym teacher and groundskeeper.

He stepped closer to them. "It's forbidden to play in the garden shed," he chastised.

Milly protested. "W-wait a minute, Jim, I-"

"I don't wanna know why. I've told you a hundred times that this place is much too dangerous for children," Jim continued. He gestured with his arm around the shed. "Look at all these rusty tools! Whaddaya think this is, a kid's playground?" Jim shoved the girls out of the shed and locked the door, trapping Milly's teddy bear inside.

"I hope I've made myself real clear. Entry forbidden, access reserved for adults only. And you-" Jim jabbed a finger at the older girl, making her recoil, "You should have known better than to bring in these kids." Clementine opened her mouth to protest, but Milly beat her to it.

"With you, everything is off-limits," her voice wavered in anger. Jim caught what she said and began to chastise her again. "Now you listen here, eh? I would change the way I talk if I were you, little girl."

"Little girl?!" Milly shrieked. "Okay, I mean, so what? It's only big kids that can say what they think, huh?!" Tears threatened to dribble down her red face. Clementine tried to grab her underclassman but she just swatted her hand away, not wanting to back down.

"So you think you're a big kids, huh?" Jim continued to taunt. "Okay, that's fine. news report or not, the three of you are grounded for tonight in your rooms!" The mood dropped. That meant no prom!

Tamiya side-eyed her friend. "Oh great, really really great," she grumbled. "Thanks to you, it's goodbye prom for all of us."

Jim appeared to be satisfied with chewing the girls out. "Now beat it!"

* * *

Clementine found herself consoling Milly again with Tamiya but this time at the courtyard where they found Sissi before.

"Oh, don't cry, look at the pictures we took!" Tamiya comforted her friend. "They really fantastic!" She pushed the printed photos toward Milly. Clementine smiled gently. "Maybe we could even have a sleepover in my dorm! It'll be better than the prom!" Tamiya smiled at her mentor. "Yeah, it'll be okay!"

"Something wrong, Milly?" Clementine turned around to see her friend, Odd, towering over the crouched trio. Tamiya filled him in first. "Somebody stole her teddy bear-"

"And I'm sure one of the big kids who did it out of spite!" Milly finished in a bitter voice, looking up. Her tears still hadn't ceased to stop. Clementine gently took the photos out of Tamiya's hand and began to flip through them, but then one photo specifically caught her eye. "Hey, Milly, I think you're right! Look at this!" This perked everyone's attention and they crowded around Clementine.

"A picture of Sissi's room?" Tamiya asked, confused.

Milly gasped loudly when she found what Clementine was talking about. She pointed at the picture. "There's my teddy bear, hidden under a pillow!"

"Incredible eye, Clem," Tamiya breathed. Clementine simply grinned with pride. "Glad to be of service!"

"Ha! Who would've believed it?" Odd laughed. "Soon, she'll be playing with dolls!"

"C'mon, we gotta find her!" Milly stood up, fists raised to her chest.

"If Jim catches us in the dorm, we're in big trouble, Milly," warned Tamiya to her emotional friend.

"Hey, you guys go back to your room, I'll handle this," Odd said. He grabbed the photo from their hands. "I'll go too," Clementine added, standing up. She put her right fist inside her left hand, cracking her hands. "Nothing that hurts my ace reporters will get past me," she declared. "Even if it means getting in trouble." The redhead gave Tamiya and Milly a thumbs up and the two girls smiled at their mentor. Perhaps there would be justice after all!

As Odd and Clementine walked away, he elbowed her aide. "You really care for those girls, don't you?" At this a light blush bloomed across the redhead's face. She turned her head away. "I-I couldn't let Sissi get away with that! That's too low, even for her! Stealing a teddy bear, jeez!" she sputtered. Odd just shook his head knowingly, a smirk playing on his lips.

* * *

When they arrived at Sissi's room, it was just as much of a wreck as when Clementine and her friends came over to inspect it. She marched over to the bed and crouched down on her knees.

"Hm, I got nothing. Weird," Clementine reported, standing up. She put her hands on her hips. "Let's keep looking around." But even after a few minutes of searching, it was clear that the bear was nowhere in sight.

"Let's go back. We'll have to tell them that we didn't find it," Odd concluded. Clementine sighed and nodded, defeated. There wasn't anything else to do. Together they both walked out of the room. They didn't walk that far, though, when they began to hear whispers in the halls by the students.

"Did ya hear? Jim got real hurt!"

"No way! By who?"

"Beats me, but apparently, they hurt Jim so bad that he's in the infirmary!"

"Yikes, that guy's gotta be tough if he's in the infirmary!"

This perked their interest. They glanced at each other, seeming to share the same thought. _Could it be...? _They quickly rushed down to the infirmary.

* * *

Odd and Clementine had made it to the infirmary at the exact same time that the principal was exiting it. His eyes widened in surprise, not expecting the two students. "Odd? Clementine? Are you two looking for something?" he asked.

Odd quickly answered. "Oh no, uh, you see, we just heard about what happened to Jim-"

"Do they know who attacked him?" Clementine interjected.

"No, uh, I think our gym teacher could use some rest." The principal crumpled up something in his hand and discarded it in the waste bin next to him and walked off. The duo glanced at each other once again and walked towards the bin. Odd picked up the crumpled ball and unfolded it, revealing a drawing of a teddy bear! Albeit, it was crudely drawn, but it was a major clue nonetheless.

* * *

"XANA? A teddy bear?" Jeremie asked.

"Yeah, we're sure," Odd confirmed. Clementine nodded in agreement.

Odd, Clementine, Ulrich, and Jeremie were standing alongside a pillar in the courtyard in the late afternoon, discussing Odd and Clementine's findings. Sissi's disaster of a room, the photos, the missing bear, everything. No detail was left out.

"He's always there when you least expect him," Jeremie mused to himself, a hand raised to his face. Odd interrupted the silence. "Okay guys, who goes and who stays here?"

"We can't have a solo mission, it's too dangerous without Yumi if you go alone. You never know what you are gonna find over there," Jeremie argued.

"I volunteer!" Odd cried, hand raised in the air. "What did I just say?" Jeremie sternly reminded, causing Odd to frown. "There have been two accidents already, we can't leave the school unguarded! And even going back in time if there's an accident, it's all over."

"Then I'll go with him," Clementine said, jabbing her thumb towards Odd. "He'll need all the help he can get."

"And I'll stay here," Ulrich finished. "If I find any clues I'll pass them on to you, Jeremie. Go on and see how it'll all be okay." He placed a hand on Jeremie's shoulder. They all smiled, determined to save the school.

* * *

Odd, Jeremie, and Clementine walked down to a hidden corridor, careful to be seen by nobody, and opened a door. It revealed an underground passage, dark, earthy, and cramped. The three of them ran down and found themselves in the school's sewer system. It was surprisingly spacious, the ceiling high and the tunnel wide, and the murky water was quiet but flowing gently. They leaped over a stray pipe and turned the corner to find their stash of four skateboards and one scooter. Odd and Clementine each grabbed a skateboard and Jeremie grabbed the lone scooter. Together they made their way down the dim tunnel and reached a ladder. The trio leapt off of their rides and climbed up the ladder.

When they reached the top, the sky was dark and cloudy, but they had made it to the front of an abandoned factory building. They ran inside and swung off of the ropes and down in front of an elevator. Jeremie pushed the button and they silently rode the elevator down, anxious and full of adrenaline.

They reached to the supercomputer, but Jeremie was the only one that got off the elevator. Odd and Clementine stayed on and the elevator went down another level. There, they found tall, metallic pillars that loomed over, their light inviting and bright.

"You ready, Clem?" Odd challenged as he stepped into one of the pillars that they dubbed a scanner.

"Pfft, don't even ask, I was born ready," Clementine boasted, stepping inside a scanner as well.

Despite her bluff, Clementine could not help but feel butterflies in her stomach. The process, no matter how many times she did it, still surprised her. Her body felt light but heavy. She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body, but she shook her head and faced forward.

"Transfer Clementine." The doors of the scanner slowly but smoothly slid shut in front of her.

"Scanning Clementine." Air began to flow inside the scanner, making her ponytail fly upwards. She shut her eyes and had to remember to relax and breathe as her body began to slowly levitating and rotating.

"Virtualization."

* * *

Clementine's form slowly materialized onto Lyoko. Her red hair was now wrapped in a bun, held together thanks to a red ribbon. A matching red bandana covered her mouth. She wore an orange tunic outlined with a gold yellow. White long-sleeves peeked under the tunic. A golden yellow skirt flared from her hips and a red sash rested on her waist and brown knee-high combat boots covered her red leggings. In her hands were brown fingerless gloves that held two long golden whips.

She fell down from the sky and landed on her feet. To her right was Odd in his purple cat gear. She couldn't deny that he looked a bit silly but cute in his Lyoko outfit.

"Looks like we're in the desert region," Clementine murmured to herself, putting the whips on the clips that were on her hips.

As the looked around the barren desert, they saw a human figure waving at them in the distance. Aelita.

They rushed towards the pink girl and looked to where she was staring: a large, gladiator-like pit that had a spiraling sidewalk around the circumference of the pit.

Aelita pointed ahead. "You see that? The tower that XANA activated can't be too far ahead." Odd looked down at the hole that led to the digital sea. "Well, not down there, anyway," commented Clementine, hands on her hips.

Aelita gestured to the land behind her and asked, "Maybe on the neighboring plateaus?" As the three turned to look, however-

"Kankrelats! We got company, guys!" exclaimed Clementine. She produced the two whips from her side and stood on guard in front of Aelita. Odd did the same and readied himself with his arrows.

"Aelita, go!" commanded Clementine, waving her away. As soon as the pink girl was out of sight, she began to slash the monsters. At the same time, the monsters began to fire away. Clementine twirled and leaped out of the way in order to not be shot. With a good "Hi-ya!" she finally eliminated one of the wretched monsters with her whip.

Suddenly she heard an explosion to her left. Odd had also managed to destroy a kankrelat but not without being shot in the torso by another. They both took shelter inside the pit.

"Odd! Clementine! I'm afraid we don't have much of a choice," Aelita said. Clementine nodded and began to go after her, but Odd stayed put, a faraway look in his eyes.

Clementine called for him. "Odd!" The purple catboy focused back to reality as debris of an explosion littered his head. He finally followed after the two girls.

With the remaining kankrelats in pursuit, Odd and Clementine fended off the laser shots as they ran. _Bam! Crack!_ Two more monsters defeated!

One monster, however, fell over the ledge due to the force of the explosion and debris. This would've been fine, if it didn't knock over Aelita into the middle of the pit...

"AELITA!" screeched Clementine and Odd as she fell. Without thinking, Odd leaped after her. He caught her hand and clawed the wall in order to stop the fall. Once they stopped, a rope wrapped around Odd's waist and began to hoist them upwards.

"Figured y'all needed a lift?" Clementine grinned. She continued to pull until the two were on the same ledge as her.

"We can't leave you for one second, huh, Aelita?" joked Odd as he patted her back.

Aelita, though, looked past him. "Hey, I think I found something," she said. Clementine, confused, turned around and saw a thin crevice on the wall. Red light pulsated through the exposed cables.

"Odd, Clem, hurry up. Teddy's getting real angry," Jeremie's voice rang out at them.

"Yeah, yeah, we got it," answered Clementine as she walked through the crevice with Odd and Aelita. "The tower can't be too far away," Aelita reassured. As they traveled through, though, the rocky floor began to shake and dust fell from the narrow ceiling. The trio turned around and found...

"A Megatank!" Clementine realized. The Megatank was large and ball-like, she remembered, and its laser was a guaranteed K.O. "Houston, we have a problem," Odd announced. Clementine pushed Aelita forward and began to run, the Megatank in hot pursuit.

Clementine breathed hard, pushing her body to continue running until they came to an opening. The three of them dived out of the Megatank's way as it continued to roll... and right in front of the activated tower. The tall structure that seemed to reach the sky had a red aura, meaning that XANA had activated it.

Aelita raised her head up and saw the same thing that Clementine was seeing. "We found the tower, Jeremie," she reported.

Jeremie's eager voice came through over head. "Great, well done! All you have to do is deactivate it!" He replied.

"Okay, just give me a minute to say hello to an old buddy of mine," Odd said as he rose to his feet.

"You better not do what I think you're gonna do, Odd," Clementine groaned as she readied her whips. Jeremie was thinking the same thing as her. "Cut the courtesy, Odd, you only have 50 life points left. You can't let him hit you!" The genius chastised him.

Odd paid no mind to either one of them; he carefully steadied his arm at the Megatank. The bullet-like monster opened its shell and after charging up it fired a laser at Odd. It missed, though, and instead hit the wall. Odd and Clementine dove out of the way, debris splattering around them.

Clementine mentally groaned as she stood in front of Aelita. _He's not gonna make it. _

"Jeremie, Odd's not gonna make it on his own," the pink-haired girl cried, echoing her thoughts. Odd has just narrowly avoided another laser.

"Yes, he will," Jeremie replied. "Odd, come on, you have to hit the target!"

Aelita turned to Clementine. "Clem, what do we do?" She desperately asked. The girl looked around in desperation. Then an idea struck her. "We'll run." Aelita nodded hesitantly and the two girls rushed towards the tower. They had almost made it to the front when-

"Ghk-!" Another laser shot from the Megatank and Clementine was devirtualized in an instant. She could've sworn that she heard Aelita cry out her name just before she was gone.

* * *

As soon as the doors of the scanner opened, Clementine, her hair plastered to her face due to sweat, gasped for air. Her body felt like nothing but also heavy at the same time. She staggered out of the scanner and climbed up the ladder rail against the wall, not wanting to wait for the elevator.

When she made it up to where the supercomputer was, she walked up next to Jeremie. "H-how'd it go?" Clementine panted.

The genius smiled. "Good news, Aelita's safe inside the tower, thanks to you, Clem. I don't know what would've happened if she was the one that got hit," he replied. She weakly smiled back and gave him a thumbs up.

"Tower deactivated," said Aelita. This was Jeremie's cue. "Return to the past now." He tapped a key and a white orb of light enveloped the factory and expanded to the outside world. Clementine instinctively covered her eyes, but with a small smile on her face, she knew that everyone was saved.

* * *

Clementine found herself back at the auditorium, where Sissi was insulting Milly again, with the same remarks as before. This was the one thing that Clementine liked about the trips to the past; she could outfox whatever was thrown at her.

"Uh, um, Ulrich? Would you be my date tonight?" Milly quickly asked again, her voice rushed and tears brimming in her eyes.

Instead of turning the girl down, Ulrich walked up to her, kneeled in front of her, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Sure, I'd be glad to, Milly. I'll see you here at eight," he said.

Milly's eyes widened in surprise. "R-really?" She stammered. The pigtailed girl was not expecting this.

"Why sure," Ulrich continued as he rose to his feet. "You're not too mad at me, are you, Yumi?" He turned at the girl in question for a response.

"Not at all," Yumi smiled. "Anyway, my secret admirer will take me tonight, right Odd?" Odd gave her a thumbs up.

Clementine could not stop her loud cackling as Sissi and her posse gawked in surprise. "Bwahahaha! What a turn of events!" She howled.

Sissi, on the other hand, was furious. "What?! Ulrich, you're gonna- go with that- that silly baby?" Sissi screeched angrily.

"That's right, I am," he answered coolly. "But don't worry, when your brain gets another neuron or two, maybe I'll go out with you." This retort made Sissi gnash her teeth and turn red in the face with anger.

"Please tell me you got that on tape, Tamiya," wheezed Clementine as she wiped a tear from her eye. Her camerawoman gave her a thumbs up and replied happily. "Yep, you bet I did. This is a scoop!"

"A super scoop!" added Milly, positively beaming.

* * *

**A/N: Whew! Finally got this done! This chapter has been in my WIPs for months, and I'm so glad that this is finally done! Creating Clementine was the most challenging part of this entire thing, but I'm glad of the way that she turned out. I can't promise a schedule for updates, but I already have the next chapter halfway written. Thanks for reading! Please favorite and comment!**


	2. (S1 E2) Seeing is Believing

Clementine sat in her afternoon science class next to Ulrich, listening to a lecture by a guest speaker and bored out of her mind. Dr. DeLaker was his name? Eh, she couldn't remember. She had her head resting on her hand and her eyes continuously fluttered shut. The warm sunlight shining down on her did not help ease her drowsiness.

"... this plant is one of the most powerful in the world. As chief engineer I'm particularly concerned with safety and to guarantee this safety, security measures have been applied at every level of production … " The speaker droned on, pointing at an image of a nuclear plant on the board with a pointer. Clementine would've normally listened-she really would have!-but she had been up the night before finishing a large pile of homework from her classes thanks to the returns to the past that were like undo buttons. Now here she was, sleep deprived and totally bored. She suppressed another yawn as she continued to listen.

"We call this combination of safety measures: In-Depth Defense." He turned towards the front of the class. "I'll be glad to answer any questions," he said, finally concluding his presentation.

Jeremie was the first to raise his hand. "Uh, sir?" Ms. Hertz nodded at him. "Yes, go on, Jeremie."

The blonde genius stood up and addressed the scientist, "I'd like to know if an atomic process exists for fusing virtual particles and materializing them in the real world." At this Clementine raised her eyebrows. From what she could decipher from the scientific jargon, he was secretly asking about a way to bring Aelita from Lyoko to the real world. _Nice going, Mister J _she smirked.

The scientist, on the other hand, didn't look impressed and pushed up his glasses. "Son, that is in the realm of science fiction, sorry," he responded. An awkward silence filled the air.

"Jeremie is an excellent student, but he's a bit of a dreamer," Ms. Hertz apologized, gently pushing down the blonde genius as she passed by him. Mocking laughter filled the air, most notably Herve's, which was a nasally chortle.

Odd and Clementine turned to stare down Herve and Sissi, who was also giggling mockingly. Clementine held up a clenched fist for good measure. Even though they glared at the two, their laughter had stopped. Not long after, the projector casting the blueprint of the powerplant fizzed out.

Ms. Hertz stared at the machine in surprise. "Well, now, what's happened here?" she wondered aloud and began to fiddle with the machine. "Oh certainly nothing, just a blown fuse, that's all," she reassured everyone after a moment. Odd, Jeremie, Ulrich and Clementine glanced at each other, a questioning look being shared between them.

* * *

"I'm saying that maybe XANA is behind this," Jeremie insisted as the four of them exited the science building.

"Don't get so excited, Jeremie, it was just a short-circuit," Odd shrugged, having already dismissing the incident as nothing more than a freak accident.

Yumi raised an eyebrow in interest. "Oh? What happened in science?" she asked.

Clementine waved her hand in nonchalance. "Jeremie here thinks that XANA caused a blown fuse," she replied as she stretched upwards.

Jeremie turned his head towards her. "I'm telling you, it really could've been-"

"Odd?" A baritone voice interrupted. The quintet quickly turned their attention towards the direction of the voice. It was Principal Delmas. "I've thought it over; you can form your group the, uh, Foxtrot Fanatics?"

"Yes!" Odd whooped. This was good news for him.

"It's the, uh, Pop Rock Progressives, sir," Yumi corrected gently. Clementine nodded. "It's gonna be super big!" she added.

"But it must be open to anyone who wishes to play," Principal Delmas added. "Is that clear?"

Nods and murmurs of agreement arose from the group. "No problemo, sir!" promised Odd. Satisfied, the principal walked away. As soon as he was out of sight, Odd slid to his knees and continued to cheer, "Yeah, let's hear it for the God of Rock 'n' Roll!"

Clementine put her hands on her hips. "Sure, whatever." The others just dismissed his proclamation.

"Hey, c'mon," Odd said as he rose from the ground, "If we step on it, we can photocopy the leaflets before lunch, Jeremie."

The blonde genius shook his head and waved his arms in front of him. "No way, I'm not into rock. Besides, I wanna check on that outage," he replied and walked away, presumably to his dorm, where one of his computers with access to Lyoko was stored. Clementine waved at her friend as he walked away. "See ya later, Jeremie! We'll be at lunch!"

* * *

When Odd, Ulrich, Yumi and Clementine arrived at lunch, a meal of cheesy brussel sprouts, a salad, two clementines ("The fruit kind, thank you very much, Odd."), and cheese and butter spreads awaited them.

"Ew, yuck!" Ulrich gagged, pushing away his tray. He covered his nose so as not to smell the smelly lunch. Clementine, despite not liking the meal either, ate hers anyway. "And they say that French cuisine is the best in the world," she mused, scooping up another brussel sprout into her mouth. She looked around the cafeteria as Odd passed out fliers for their group.

When he arrived to Sissi's table, however, a hostile standoff began. Nicolas made the first move, extending his hand for a flier; however, Odd simply turned away from the posse.

_Huh, odd of them to be asking for something that we're involved in. Oh well_ thought Clementine as she scooped up more food.

* * *

The five of them now stood next to the vending machines, waiting for Odd to choose a drink from one of the machines.

"Let's see now…" Odd muttered to himself, "Hot chocolate? No. Soup? No, the soup tastes like dishwater-"

"Why would they have soup as a beverage option? Is that allowed?" Clementine realized aloud, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. No response followed her question, just a shrug from Yumi and noise from Odd and Ulrich's arguing.

"Oh this miserable machine's on the blink again," grumbled Odd. Ulrich had chosen soup for him but hardly anything poured out into the cup. "Maybe it's another power failure," Jeremie offered as an explanation.

Yumi turned to him. "Are you worried?" He nodded in response. "Yeah, I am. I'll keep checking things out."

"If you need us, we'll be in the gym. We're gonna hold auditions for a drummer," Clementine reminded. She turned to her friends. "C'mon, guys, it's almost time."

* * *

But after two hours of auditions, no drummer was suitable enough for the band. The four of them were ready to give up when Jeremie burst into the room, out of breath and hunched over from running.

"This is XANA's doing, I'm almost sure of it!" He finally managed as he took a seat in front of them. Suddenly the mood dropped. "Yeah, go on," Yumi encouraged.

"The current's cutting out all around the school, and the pylon outside is way over the voltage limit! It could explode!" Jeremie wiped forehead from sweat as he explained frantically. Clementine glowered when he mentioned the evil virus.

"But why would XANA wanna do that?" wondered Ulrich.

Jeremie shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine, Ulrich." Clementine put her index finger to her chin thoughtfully. _Could it be…? _

"Surprise~!" a nasty sing-song voice filled the air. The Lyoko warriors turned around and found Sissi and her two weasley lackeys at the door way. She took a chair and sat in it as they walked over in front of Clementine and her friends.

"It's obvious that my friends and I aren't very welcome, but my father_ did_ say that the band was open to everybody, right?" Sissi challenged to the group that she despised so. "Oh, but don't worry," she reassured, "I don't want to be in a group of deadbeat weirdos, but Nicolas just _loves_ the drums." The self-proclaimed queen bee put her hand against the mousy ginger that stood next to her.

Odd scoffed at Sissi's offer. "The drummer, huh? What is he playing, his mom's pots and pans?" Clementine smirked darkly. "I'd like to see if he can actually play, knowing how much of a trickster and liar you are, Sissi," she added, venom practically dripping from her voice. Sissi, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes at Clementine.

Jeremie quickly stood up, his mind elsewear. "Okay guys, I'm off to the factory. Keep you posted!" He ran out of the gym.

Nicolas made his way to the stage and sat behind the drum kit. With his eyes closed, he tapped the drumsticks together and began to play. And play he did! The mesmerizing performance left Clementine surprised, her jaw dropped and her body slack.

Finally, Nicolas finished his performance by hitting the drumstick against the splash cymbal. "Yeah!" Herve and Sissi clapped for him as he exited the stage and right back at Sissi's side. "Looks like you found yourself a drummer," she said with a smirk and promptly left with her lackeys.

"Ooh, how I hate that she has the upper hand here," Clementine grumbled as she bit her thumb. "We can't accept him, he's one of _her_ footmen." Odd was just as upset as her.

"Nicolas? The drummer in our band? I don't care how good he is, the answer is no. Besides, Sissi set this up just to give us a hard time," he complained.

"Maybe, for once, she was trying to help," Yumi reasoned. "And you gotta admit, Nicolas can really play the drums."

"Better than Naomi, that's for sure," Ulrich laughed, putting his hands over his head.

Odd whipped his head at his friend. "She's only a beginner! She just needs a little more time!" he defended. Naomi, a pretty girl that Odd had become smitten with almost immediately, had auditioned but failed miserably in the eyes of Clementine.

Ulrich simply smiled. "A couple years should do it."

This was the final straw for Odd. "Well, if that's how you feel, then listen up." The purple boy rose from his seat. "If you want Nicolas as your drummer, you better find yourself another guitarist!"

"And I say if you don't take him, you'd better find yourself a new singer," Yumi replied right back. Clementine could only roll her eyes at the split debate. She jabbed a thumb at herself and growled, "Count out your backup singer if this arguing is gonna keep on going!"

Ulrich sighed. "If Sissi's idea was to cause trouble, then she's done a great job." A blatty brass sound interrupted the argument. It was Jim, who had suddenly appeared in the doorway with a trombone. "Would you guys be needing a slide trombone by any chance?" he asked cheerily. Clementine looked at her friends in confusion. "Ah, um…"

Unfazed by the lack of a reaction, the gym teacher continued to blare his trombone. After a few bars, he asked, "Well, what do you say?"

Odd, still confused but not wanting to completely crush Jim's hopes, finally responded, "Uh, Jim, the fact is, you see, we're a rock band, not a military brass band."

"I think it has more of a jazz kind of tone," Clementine murmured as a cell phone rang. It was Yumi's, and she picked it up. "Okay, be right there," she answered after listening to the caller. Yumi looked at Jim and said hurriedly, "We'll have to audition you another time." _A_ _XANA attack?!_

Clementine scrambled for her belongings as Jim began to argue. "Oh no, you don't. You're not going anywhere unless you agree to take me as part of your group-!" But before he could finish his rant, his audience was gone.

* * *

Ulrich, Odd, Yumi and Clementine went down under a sewer in the little forest outside the school; there were multiple routes to the factory. Clementine climbed her way down as she heard Odd reassure Jeremie that they were on their way. Once at the bottom, Yumi tossed a skateboard to her, and the four of them skated their way through the dark and narrow sewer. The four of them finally reached the ladder that led to the bridge outside of the factory. They hoisted each other up and ran inside. In front of the entrance of the factory, Clementine swung from the ropes and landed in front of the elevator. Clementine pushed the button and down went the elevator.

When they reached the next floor, they found the supercomputer. It still amazed Clementine in its size and intricate design. In front of the computer, there was a large hologram of Lyoko in the shape of an orb.

Jeremie peeked from behind the computer and saw that his friends arrived. "At last," he sighed. When Clementine reached the supercomputer, there was a diagram of a machine and a scale that was slowly escalating.

"Here's what XANA is up to," Jeremie began to explain. "Once he's stored enough voltage in the pylon, he'll unleash it all."

"Unleash it where?" Odd asked.

"Guess. On the nuclear plant," Jeremie answered.

Clementine took a step back from the supercomputer. "You mean, the one that was being shown in science class? That's too much!" she gasped. "Creating a short-circuit and-" Clementine stopped abruptly and took a breath. "And what else Jeremie?"

"The pylon can take one million volts," he continued. "Once it's all accumulated, XANA can blow everything up."

"Nuclear sabotage? That's a little over our heads, wouldn't you say?" Yumi nervously asked.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Ulrich asked her. Yumi turned to him. "Think about it! If we fail in Lyoko, the whole region will be wiped out! We've got to warn the authorities!" she explained.

"Are you crazy? There'll be an inquiry and we'll be questioned! We'll have to tell them everything!" Jeremie countered, clearly against the idea. "If they discover XANA, they'll pull all the plugs out and we'll lose Aelita!"

Yumi retorted back, "I know that, but we're talking about a nuclear disaster!"

There was silence as the argument came to a standstill. The tension between Yumi and Jeremie could be cut with a knife.

"Well, why don't we take it to a vote?" Clementine proposed. This caught everyone by surprise and they turned to her. She had her arms crossed and she was staring down at the floor intensely. "We're getting nowhere and we need to hurry up or else nothing will get done."

Jeremie turned away, eyes furrowed. "Okay, fine," he finally responded. "Who is for raising the alarm?"

Yumi immediately raised her hand. "For."

"Against," Jeremie said, putting his hand up. Odd also voted against.

Suddenly, Aelita popped up on the computer screen. Ulrich noticed her. "Sorry, Aelita, but I also think we can't take that bigger risk," he told her, "I vote for. Let's report it."

Jeremie turned to Clementine. "Well, Clem, you asked for this vote. What do you say?" he asked. The girl in question bit her thumb nail and started, "Well, I think-"

"Don't I have the right to vote?" Aelita asked. Clementine turned towards their A.I friend. "Yep, you do. You're pretty much in charge of Lyoko," she said, "What do you think, Aelita?"

After a moment of thought, she said, "I vote for." Everyone was shocked! "Huh? But why?" asked Jeremie.

"I don't want thousands of people to die just to save me," she explained. Clementine smiled. "In that case, I also vote for," she said. Yumi looked at both girls gratefully. "Thanks Aelita, Clem."

* * *

Yumi and Clementine ran from the factory and back towards the school. As they ran, electricity sparked like fireworks from a nearby pole. Feeling panic shoot through her heart, Clementine ran faster towards the school. "Wh-what are we gonna tell them?" she panted to Yumi as she ran.

"What we know," Yumi answered as she ran by her side, "C'mon… there's no time."

They continued to run until they finally reached the principal's door, stopping for a breath. Clementine could hear muffled voices from behind the door, and after a moment of listening closely, she realized that they were talking about the power plant.

"Let's go in," Clementine said to Yumi. The black-haired girl nodded and together they burst into the room.

Inside the principal's office was the principal himself, Ms. Hertz, and the guest scientist from Clementine's earlier class, Dr. DeLaker. "We're sorry to disturb you, but it's really important you've got to trust us," Yumi began to explain, "I know it's gonna sound crazy, sir, but please hear us out-"

"The nuclear plant is in danger of blowing up!" blurted Clementine. "We have to do something. If not, we could all die!" Despite voting for, she knew that nobody wouldn't believe them but it was still worth a shot. If they didn't make an effort, then they could all die and no one was sure if a return to the past could fix that.

Ms. Hertz and the scientist gave the two confused and annoyed looks, but the principal coughed and got their attention. "Girls, let the authorities take control of this," Principal Delmas said sternly. "Even though the city is in a blackout right now, Dr. DeLaker and his team are working on a solution right now. You are dismissed." There was no room for argument. Clementine looked at Yumi and both walked away from the office and eventually broke out in a run. Clementine flipped open her orange and black flip phone and dialed Jeremie's number.

"Jeremie, the principal and Dr. DeLaker didn't believe us," Clementine quickly explained to him. "I could practically tear my hair out. No one is doing anything!"

"We're going crazy here too, Clem," he answered back. "The pylon is eighty-five percent charged and we can't find the tower!"

Yumi took the phone from Clementine's hands and put it to her ear. "We'll find someone else that'll listen," she said and closed the flip phone shut. Clementine could see who she was talking about. Up ahead were what looked like firefighters clad in dark black uniforms in front of the electric poles that were spitting lightning.

They ran up to one of the firefighters. "Excuse us, sir?" Yumi asked frantically. "The nuclear plant is on the verge of a meltdown!"

The two men looked at each other in confusion and worry. "Can you repeat that?" one of the men asked.

"The voltage that's built up in this pylon is going to be used to blow up the nuclear power plant!" Yumi shouted. "There has to be something that you guys can do!"

"How can you just stand there? Do something, before it's too late!" Clementine cried out in impatience. She buried her hands in her head and grabbed thick clumps of hair. She really could scream in frustration.

The firefighters, on the other hand, still looked unperturbed by their desperation. "How do you know all that?" the man with a mustache and beard asked. Yumi and Clementine spared a glance at each other before launching into the story of Lyoko and XANA and the supercomputer.

"A supercomputer in a factory?" they asked, scratching their heads. "A virtual world?"

"I swear, you have to believe us," Yumi begged. Clementine could sense her losing faith to them entirely. They simply refused to take action. _Well, I mean, who would? Lyoko really _is _in the realm of science fiction… but we could all die!_

Clementine growled loudly and angrily. "If you guys won't listen, then-"

_ZZZT-!_

"Oh no!" The harsh crackling of the electricity stopped for a brief moment, but then began to travel along the power lines... and right in the direction of the power plant.

Too afraid of the end result, Clementine covered her eyes and waited… until a bright light engulfed her vision. She collapsed onto the ground in relief, a smile on her face. _They made it…_

* * *

"Okay, hit it. Three, four, and-"

Odd strummed his black electric guitar, Ulrich played the keyboard, Clementine shook the tambourine in her hand,… and Nicolas banged away on the drum kit. They had decided, in the end, to let Nicolas be the drummer for the Pop Rock Progressives. Clementine had to admit that he was, in fact, a very talented drummer.

"_Mystery girl, from 'nother world~,_" sang Yumi into the microphone. "_Got it happy and not a lot of stress._" Clementine echoed the lyrics into the microphone that was raised onto a stand. She turned her head around and looked at her friends and spotted a trombone. Oh, and Jim was also in the band. He looked very happy blasting his trombone, like he didn't have a care in the world. _Ah, well, trombone players will be trombone players, _she thought to herself.

"Great, you guys, the energy is super nuclear," Jeremie praised through bites of popcorn. He was sitting next to Sissi and Herve, who were present to support their friend. "You're gonna make this town explode!"

"Not funny, Jeremie!" Clementine shouted into the microphone, breaking away from the song. The genius simply smiled and clapped for their performance.

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter done, woot woot! Although it's not as long as the last one, I enjoy writing bits of plot that aren't in the actual episode. It's fun to diverge from the actual episode. I've also been thinking of making a fan episode for this season, but I'm not sure of what. I already have a vague idea, but it'll probably be towards the end of season one. Anyways, I know I said that there wouldn't be consistent updates, but if I happen to have a finished episode written, then the story will most likely be updated on Friday or on the weekends since I can push off my homework to the weekend. As I've stated before, thanks for reading, and please favorite and comment! **


	3. (S1 E3) Holiday In the Fog

Twas the night before the holiday week, and all throughout the academy not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… except for four students. They made their way towards a small shack and began their scheme.

Odd and Clementine snuck their way inside the shack with a wriggling backpack in Odd's hands. Meanwhile, Ulrich and Jeremie were busy outside. Clementine could hear the metallic whooshing of the paint cans vandalizing the outside wall of the shack. After some time, Clementine saw Ulrich give her a thumbs up from the ajar door, meaning that their scheme was ready to go underway.

"Ulrich gave me the signal," whispered Clementine. Odd nodded at her and opened his bag. Out came a chihuahua-looking dog: Odd's secret pet named Kiwi. Pets were not allowed in Kadic Academy, but Odd kept Kiwi in his dresser so as to not be caught by Jim.

Kiwi sniffed his new surroundings and wandered into a room. The door was open just a crack, and a loud snore could be heard from the room. After a few moments, a sharp "Hey, what are you doing here, huh, you dumb dog?" was heard, and Kiwi burst out from the room with Jim on his trail. "Wait till I get my hands on you! I'll get you this time, you mangy mutt!" Jim's voice went faint he chased Kiwi out of the shack.

"Yeah, way to go, Kiwi!" Odd whisper-cheered, pumping his fist.

"And now to reel him in," Clementine said. She pulled out a piece of jerky from the backpack and let the meaty scent waver in the air. Soon enough, Kiwi came back and gobbled up the jerky. Satisfied, he relaxed into Clementine's touch, twitching his head this way and that.

"C'mon, Clem, we gotta go," Odd whispered to her. The two slunk out of the shack just in time for Jim to discover the masterpiece painted on the outside wall. They carefully walked away just as Jeremie brightly told Jim, "Ï would've made the eyes better if I had more time."

/

On Friday morning, Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, and Clementine waited outside Principal Delmas' office for the verdict of Jeremie's "crime." _What could be taking them so long? _Clementine pondered impatiently. Her foot bounced up and down as she continued to wait.

Finally, the door swiveled open. Jeremie exited the office, head hung in shame, and the principal himself right behind him.

"I hope this will teach you a lesson, Jeremie," Principal Delams sighed. He shook his head as he muttered, "I don't understand, a model student like you. You should be ashamed."

"Uh, yes, sir," he answered. Satisfied, the principal closed the door. Immediately the quartet jumped to their feet and surrounded their friend.

"What'd he say?"

"Tell us!"

"What's the punishment?"

"Oh he gave me detention for the _whooole _week of vacation," Jeremie lamented. The group walked out to the courtyard of the school.

"Cool, he really let ya have it," Odd compliments to the blonde.

"As punishments go, you're a champion!" Ulrich adds.

"Yeah, the best of the best!" Clementine cheered.

"I'm sure we couldn't have done better than that," Yumi smiled.

The whole reason for their upbeat mood? Since everyone would be gone for the holiday, it would mean that XANA would be left unattended. But with Jeremie in trouble, he'd be able to monitor XANA and his actions. Now, everyone would be able to rest easy.

"Anyway, XANA won't get any vacation this time," Jeremie proudly announces. With that, Clementine and her friends walked away. For some reason, though, Clementine couldn't help but feel like a pair of eyes were burning through her back.

/

Odd, Ulrich, Clementine, Yumi, and Jeremie walked through the dirt path that led to the front of the school. It was finally time for everyone to leave for the holiday week.

"So let me get this straight," Ulrich groaned he pointed at Odd, "_you _get to go and see your parents at the other end of the planet, Yumi's off for a vacation in the mountains, Clementine gets to go out of town, and what do I get? A whole week of math tutoring."

"Good luck trying to get that math to stick to your noggin," Clementine laughed, lightly punching Ulrich's arm. She was well aware of how terribly Ulrich performed in math, borderline failing in almost every exam he took.

Odd laughed as well, snaking his arm around his friend's shoulders. "Yeah, if they think that they can make a good student out of you in one week, well I say good luck to them. It sounds like Mission: Impossible if you ask me," he joked.

Clementine hummed contentedly. She was excited to visit her dad and step-mom. They lived in Compiegne, which was outside of Paris. It would mean taking the subway to the bus station and then an hour ride on the bus, but it would be worth it. _I wonder if my brother's are gonna be home too…_

Her attention is drawn back to Yumi, who asks Jeremie, "You're sure you can manage on your own without us?"

"No sweat!" the genius boasts, "And if XANA leaves me alone, I'll be able to work on Aelita's materialization."

Suddenly a voice sneered, "Oh don't worry, he's not gonna be alone." In front of Clementine and her friends stood Sissi proudly blocking their way. "I'm staying at school too, and I'll look after him. I'll be his guardian angel."

"Or his personal devil," muttered Clementine just softly enough for her and her friends to hear.

"Wow, Jeremie, are you lucky," Odd chimed in.

"Alright young man, you think this wall's gonna clean itself?" A gruff voice bellowed. Clementine whipped her head to see Jim standing on the side of the path. His hands were on his hips and a disgruntled expression on his face.

_What's with people suddenly popping up out of nowhere?! _

"Get to work NOOOOOOW!"

Sissi laughed at the whole spectacle, finally seeing the people she rivaled with getting in trouble. This seemed to catch Jim's attention. "Go on, go on, laugh while you still can young lady," he told her, "Your father told me to monitor your studying, and that's what I intend to do!" This shocked Sissi out of her laughter.

Jim pats Jeremie in the back and jabs his thumb back in the direction of the school. "Okay now, get to work and clean that up!" He leads Jeremie and Sissi away, who both had annoyed looks on their faces.

"I don't know why, but all of a sudden, my math tutoring doesn't seem all that bad," Ulrich finally comments.

/

After many hours and many rides, Clementine finally arrived at her home. It was 5 in the afternoon. She pushed the gate open and walked up the path to the front door.

"I'm home for the holiday!" she announced loudly, although the living room was empty.

"Over here!" a female voice called from somewhere in the house. Clementine dropped her bag at the couch and made her way through the house to find the source of the voice. As she walked, a spicy, savory scent wafted through the air. It got stronger as she approached the kitchen.

Just her luck; a stout woman with curly brown hair was busy chopping vegetables as a pot boiled on the stove. She wore a colorful blouse that had bright, geometric shapes all over it and black jeans.

"Hey Daphne," Clementine greeted. Daphne was Clementine's step-mother. She married into the family when Clementine was eight, and as long as her father was happy, then she was happy, too.

"C'mon, now, help me make dinner, I'm sure you're hungry!"

"Yes, chef!"

/

Dinner came and went, and Clementine was now laying on her bed playing the latest video game. It wasn't even on the market yet! _Sometimes there were perks to having a brother working in the gaming industry. _

_I wonder how Jeremie's doing with Aelita… I'll give him a call. _Clementine picked up her orange and black cell and rang his number. After a few rings, he answered. "Hello?"

"Jeremie? It's me, Clem. How's it going with Aelita?"

"Not a whole lot, but I think XANA's causing trouble again."

Clementine bolted up in her bed, alert. "What the heck? What's he doing?"

"When I was in the supply room there was purple smoke! I'm pretty sure the chemicals in it are poisonous!"

"That guy can't ever take a break! What can I do?"

"Nothing yet, but if I need your guy's help, I'll call."

"Okay, I'll be on the lookout. Goodnight." With that, she flopped back onto her bed. _But I'm all the way out here, away from the factory. I'll have to get back to Paris tomorrow._

/

"Rise and shine, Clementine!" a voice sang. The curtains were pulled back and Clementine's dark room was bathed in bright sunlight. Annoyed by this, Clementine rolled to her side and smashed her pillow to her face. This was one thing she didn't miss: her step-mom's special method of waking her up.

"Oh, don't give me that attitude!" Daphne pouted, although it was mainly for show. "I was planning to go shopping in Paris. You know, like a girls day out or something, even though I know that you just came home-"

At this comment, Clementine bolted up and out of her bed and hurriedly began to her clothes around. "Oh yeah, let's go!"

Daphne was puzzled for a second, but her face relaxed into a chuckle. "Breakfast is ready. We'll leave as soon as you're done."

/

Although she had looked forward to the trip, Clementine couldn't help but be on edge. Her hand unconsciously kept coming back to her pocket, where her cell phone was. Currently she was shopping in a boutique while her step-mother was trying on a few shirts that had caught her eye.

_RING RING!_

"Hello, Jeremie? Oh, I've been ready. I'll see you in a bit." She hung up and slammed the pile of clothes outside of the changing room her step-mother was in. "ByemomI'mgonnagototheschoolcauseIforgotsomethingokayloveyoubyeee!"

Luckily the boutique wasn't that far from the school, so Clementine sprinted as fast as she could to Kadic Academy. She was about to go through the main entrance when two figures caught her eye: Yumi and Jeremie. She was lifting his limp body off the ground.

"What *huff* happened *huff* to him?" Clementine panted as she clutched her knees.

"There was poisonous smoke at the school, and Jeremie escaped, but Ulrich went back to find Jim and Sissi!" Yumi hurriedly explained.

"Then let's get to the factory! We can't waste time!" Clementine declared, lifting the other side of Jeremie's body. Just as she did this, Odd sprung right in front of them.

"Odd, you got here in the nick of time!" Yumi sighed in relief.

"Let's go," he says simply.

/

"_A strange and toxic smoke whose origins are unknown. The elderly are advised to remain indoors,_" a news report played on one of the screens of the supercomputer. Clementine pursed her lips together. _This can't be good. If we don't hurry, then Jim and Sissi could die! I don't like them, but I wouldn't wish this on anybody!_

"Odd, help me get over to the computer," Jeremie weakly demands, snapping the redhead out of her thoughts. He's leaning against the wall, still out of breath from the smoke inhalation. "And get ready to dive in, everyone. Stop looking at me, come on! There's no time to lose!"

The trio nod and rush down to the scanner rooms. When the elevator opened, Clementine rushed to the closest scanner and stepped inside.

"Transfer Clementine. Scanner Clementine. Virtualization."

Once fully materialized, the trio land in the forest sector. They look around for Aelita, who was nowhere in sight.

"Where do we go now?" asks Odd, scratching his head in confusion.

"The activated tower is this way," a voice says. Aelita's pink figure stepped out from behind a tree, waving at them.

"Hi Aelita," Yumi greeted back. "Have you seen any monsters?" Aelita shakes her head in response.

"Guess you didn't look very hard." Odd points up the path; three kankerlots quickly scurrying towards them.

"The welcome committee sure is friendly," quipped Clementine. In a flash, she flourished the whips from the holster on her hips. "C'mon, let's go!"

Jeremie's voice is audible as the warriors dodge the kankerlot lasers. "Look, I don't wanna rush you, my friends, but it's getting kinda urgent here!"

"What about us? What do you think we're doing, huh? Getting a suntan?" Odd sarcastically jokes as he fired an arrow.

"We've got our hands full, we don't need the unwanted pressure, thanks!" replies Clementine as well. She is unsuccessful in destroying the kankerlots with her whips and dodges yet another laser.

As a kankerlot warmed up its laser, Yumi warns, "Odd, watch out!" At the last split second, Odd flips out of the way from multiple lasers. One managed to nick him, though, on the torso. Concerned, Aelita approaches the catboy, but a kankerlot fired a laser in her direction! Yumi noticed this and lept to take the shot to the torso as well.

"You okay, Yumi?" Jeremie asked in concern. The supercomputer rang an alarm, showing Yumi's decreased life points.

"No broken bones yet!" she cheerfully replied.

"I suggest we find the tower before we all devirtualized, gang!" Clementine shouts amongst the chaos. The others nod in agreement, and Aelita leads them to take shelter behind a thick tree.

"The only way to access the tower is via a tree bridge," informs Jeremie overhead, "but it happens to be _behind_ the monsters, so you're going to have to find a way around them."

Yumi narrowly avoided another laser as she peeked from the tree. "I might have an idea for blocking the monsters. You two take care of Aelita," she instructs. As she said this, a monster sneaks to them and nearly blasts Aelita.

"Laser flash!" Odd destroyed it just in time.

"Stinkin' little bug. How'd he get around to us?" muttered Clementine, surprised from the sneak attack. _That thing could've killed Aelita!_

Meanwhile, Yumi activated her telekinesis to move a nearby boulder. It slowly hovers between her and the kankerlot, and it drops suddenly, destroying one. She threw her one of her fans at the other, but it dodged it and shot a laser to her upper arm.

"We gotta run, now!" Clementine shouted, and they do so, just as Yumi is hit again in the torso and again, effectively devirtualizing her.

"_Odd! Clementine! Hurry up!" _Jeremie pleads through the mic.

Finally, the tower came into view. However, it was surrounded by water, with no clear path to get to it.

"Well, what do we do now?" asked Odd. Aelikta looked back, two kankerlots coming into view. "You guys take care of the monsters."

The two kankerlots jumped onto the bridge and crawled their way to Odd and Clementine. The two readied their weapons, and stood on guard. Meanwhile, Aelita conjured large tree stumps as stepping stones to the tower. _That will never cease to amaze me, what the-_

_BAM! _A kankerlot fired a laser at the redhead onto her shoulder. An electric shock coursed through her body, snapping her back to the situation at hand. "HIYA!" She brought her whip down, but the whip missed it by a hair. Before it could fire its laser again, Clementine quickly sliced the XANA symbol and effectively destroyed it.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Clementine cheered. When there was no response she realized that neither Odd or Aelita were around to say anything.

_Welp, guess I'm by myself. I hope it's not too late _she thought as she put her hands on her hips, a white light engulfing the forest region.

/

"You sure wanna get in trouble again, Jeremie? We already defeated XANA for now." Clementine peeked out from the doorway of the shack to Jeremie and Ulrich, who were spray painting on the wall again.

"Yeah, I don't understand why you insist on getting punished with detention again," Ulrich added, spraying a blue can. "Come on, XANA's not gonna reactivate this soon. You could give yourself a short vacation."

The genius shook his head. "Not as long as Aelita stays virtual," he insisted, "And this time, to tell you the truth, considering what we've painted, Jim can't be too angry." On the wall was a portrait of Jim as a king, with a crown and robe.

Clementine shrugged. "Your call." She went back inside and released Kiwi from the backpack.

**A/N: Wow, three chapter****s in three days! That doesn't mean I'll update like this all the time. I plan to update this fic on Fridays (when I have a chapter ready, of course). Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	4. (S1 E4) Log Book

It was 7:45 am at Kadic Academy, and Clementine had just finished her small breakfast of 2 toast slices and orange juice. Odd, on the other hand, had the remnants of his breakfast scattered all over the table.

"Ah, eight slices of toast and three bananas, not bad, huh?" he asks, patting his chest. Clementine simply rolled her eyes and pushed away the banana peel that invaded her space. Odd looked over to Jeremie and asked, "Hey are you skipping gym class again?"

"Yup," Jeremie nodded as he ate a slice of toast. "It gives me time to work on Aelita's materialization." He wasn't as athletic as the rest of his friends, so missing gym to work was a win-win for him.

"And here I thought you were a goodie two shoes," Clementine snickered. "Who knew that our resident genius was such a bad boy."

"Anyways, let's hurry. I don't want to be late for history," Jeremie said as he stood up from his seat, dirty dishes in hand. Odd and Clementine followed suit and walked outside.

The 8 o'clock bell rang in the air as day students walked inside. That meant Yumi would be walking in too.

Clementine searched for her friend in black. "Hey, Yumi!" she shouts once she spotted her. She waved her arm in the air, flagging her down.

"Hello," she greeted, walking over to where Clementine, Odd, and Jeremie stood. Yumi looked around, presumably for Ulrich, but her eyes widened. "Hey, look over there, it's Ulrich!"

The three looked over to where Yumi was staring, only to see Ulrich sitting on the cafeteria steps with… Sissi?!

"But… what's he doing with _her_?" Odd asks. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Hey, Ulrich!"

"He looks so miserable, why's he with her?" Clementine questions as well, hands on her hips. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Ulrich scooted away from Sissi, who had a smug smile on her face. With every passing second she scooted closer to him, only repelling Ulrich more.

Finally, she drags him from the steps. "C'mon, c'mon!" Clementine could hear the queen bee sing to Ulrich.

"_Huh_?" The group was collectively shocked. _This is totally out of the norm!_

* * *

It was time for history class, and Sissi was still stuck to Ulrich's side like glue. She was even openly staring at him with goo-goo eyes, though Clementine could sense his discomfort as he tried to take notes.

"In the 17th century, all European states were governed by either a king or a prince. They ruled over mainly peasant populations," the teacher lectured, but Clementine would have cared less about that. There were other important matters at hand!

"Hey, what's going on with them? I'm seeing things," Odd whispered to Jeremie, though Clementine had to strain her ears since she sat at the table to their left. "Ulrich and Sissi, that's weird."

"Yeah, but check out how jealous Herve is!" Clementine said. She had to contain her laughter as she caught Herve's intense stare.

The two chuckled until they heard a sharp, "Odd! Clementine! Are you two even listening to me?" The teacher had paused his lecture to demand their attention. The two smiled apologetically as students around them giggled at their luck.

The bell rang and Ulrich was walking side by side with Sissi. He did look incredibly reluctant about it, though.

"We have some important things to talk about, Sissi," Odd said as he grabbed her by the arm. "C'mon, hurry!" Sissi's protests grew faint as the two walked off.

"Mind explaining?" Ulrich turned to see Jeremie and Clementine leaning against the wall next to him.

* * *

Jeremie and Clementine led Ulrich to a secluded spot, with Odd and Sissi not to far away.

"Okay, spill. What's this whole ordeal, Ulrich? You haven't been brainwashed, have you?" Clementine demanded, hands on her hips.

Ulrich shook his head and took a deep breath. "Okay here goes: I'm in a jam. Big time. For years I've, uh… been keeping a diary," he quietly mumbled, averting his eyes away.

"A what?" Jeremie and Clementine ask simultaneously.

"A diary!" Ulrich shouts a bit too loudly, bristling up. Clementine would've laughed, but with Ulrich's embarrassed expression, it died down quickly. "And Sissi found it and… now she's blackmailing me. I have to go out with her." He looks back to see her talking to Odd, unimpressed with whatever he was telling her. "If she thinks she'll win me over that way, she's wrong."

Clementine's eyes narrowed, her whole body shaking. "Why that…! I'll give her a peace of my mind!" She was about to march over to her, fists clenched, when she's stopped by the two boys.

"Hold on a second. In this 'diary' of yours, did you talk about XANA or Lyoko in your diary?" asked Jeremie, arms crossed over his chest. This question halts the ginger in her steps, and she turned around.

"Well, yeah," Ulrich admits, "and if I don't do what Sissi says, she's gonna tell everybody. I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry, Ulrich," Jeremie reassures him, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "While you're at the pool, Yumi and I will look around. We'll find your diary, you'll see."

"Yeah, they'll get it back, you'll see!" Clementine adds, an earnest smile on her face. "Sissi will be off your back in no time!"

"The answer is no!" Sissi shouts, interrupting their conversation. "For the last time, I did _not_ have a nose job, _so stop asking, huh?!_"

"Cut it out, Odd! Leave her alone, will ya?" Ulrich walks over to them and takes Sissi away with his arm around her waist. The girl looked over her shoulder and sends them a satisfied smirk.

"It's nothing, we'll explain," Jeremie reassures Odd, who was still confused over it all.

"Still, even if it's because of blackmail, it's still unsettling to watch them," Clementine commented as she watched the "couple" walked away.

* * *

A bus is ready to take Clementine's gym class to the local pool for swimming exercises. She carried her orange swimsuit and towel in her maroon backpack and walked up to the bus.

"Take a look, everyone. Not bad, huh? This bus is the latest in modern technology," Jim bragged to anyone that would listen, "It's electricity driven, so not only is it non-polluting, it's powerful, too."

"Electric and powerful, too, huh? I'll bet you this crate goes about as fast as a snail," Odd comments, climbing up the steps of the bus. Jim growls at the insult, and Clementine chuckled as she followed. She greets the driver and sits in the seat in front of Odd.

Unknowingly to everybody, though, a mysterious smoke floats under the bus and a red insignia flashes in one of the headlights. It died down as quickly as it came before sparks envelope the wheel, surprising the driver.

Clementine could hear the loud confusion of Jim and the driver, and she craned her neck to catch a glimpse. Ulrich and Sissi sit across from Odd, and she shoots a questioning glance at him. Ulrich whispers in Odd's ear, who passes the message to Clementine, and the bus moves forward.

After a while, though, it's evident that something is wrong: the bus was moving unusually slow. Every other car was surpassing the bus at quicker speeds.

"We should call Jeremie," Clementine whispers to Odd and Ulrich. They nod in agreement and Odd dialed Jeremie on his phone.

"Hey, Jeremie? Something's wrong with the bus. We're zipping along at two miles an hour," he reports to the genius. "Okay, gotcha." He hangs up and tell the two, "He's running a scan on Lyoko."

"Let's hope it's just a fluke," Clementine sighed. She turned around and sat in her seat.

* * *

Fifteen minutes pass, and a biker outruns the bus. Clementine drummed her fingers on her leg. XANA was definitely up to something. After all, the bus _was _electric-powered. Her drumming quickened at this thought.

She glanced over at Ulrich and Sissi, who were bickering over something. Clementine's eyebrows shot up. _Something's up if they're suddenly fighting. It's been puppies and rainbows ever since this morning. Well, for her, anyway._

Sissi's phone rings, and her angry expression turns shocked. After hanging up, she can hear Ulrich tell her proudly, "There, you see? It's good to have real friends, isn't it?"

Odd pats the seat next to him, and Ulrich switches seats. Clementine high-fives him as he fills them in about Yumi blackmailing Sissi back into giving Ulrich his diary.

"What's going on now? This is weird!" exclaimed the bus driver. Suddenly, the bus went from a snail's pace to a rocketing speed, even switching lanes and passing other cars! The students screamed, and Clementine rushed up to the front of the bus with Odd and Ulrich, ignoring Jim's outburst.

"What's going on with this bus?" asked Ulrich to the bus driver.

"God, kid, I wish I knew! All I know is that it's out of control!" As he explained, the wheel moved on its own, the sparks dancing all around it.

"Hey, it seemed to be working okay before you recharged the batteries, right?"

"Yeah, everything was just fine, but now, I can't…"

The trio share a glance and Clementine immediately dialed Jeremie's number. "_Clementine, what's happening, huh?_"

"We're in trouble. XANA has taken complete control of the bus, and it started going at a breaknecking speed," she explained as she walks back to her seat with her friends.

"_Okay, give me a sec. I wonder what XANA's trying to do… Where are you guys?"_

Clementine glanced outside. "At the corner of Washington Street and Franklin Avenue."

"_I'll call you back as soon as I can localize you._" Clementine presses the end button and sits back down. "We're in for a rough ride, guys," she tells them.

"Aelita's gonna need a hand on Lyoko," Odd mused, "We've got to go."

Ulrich's eyebrows narrowed. "Then you go. I'll stay here."

"I'll stay as well. This speed demon will have to deal with me," Clementine added, punching her left fist to her open right palm.

Towards the front of the bus, Jim and the driver's attempts to gain control of the wheel were futile; it had a mind of its own. Odd walked up to the front of the doorway and pressed the emergency exit button. Jim yelled for him, but he had already made his escape. Odd landed on the concrete and staggered his way back to the school.

"Oncoming traffic up ahead!" Clementine reported. She pointed to the busy street to Ulrich.

"Take off your backpacks and use them as airbags!" he ordered to the students.

"Do as he says! Get low on the ground!" she adds. The bus barreled through two cars and narrowly dodged a garbage truck, but it continued to speed up, going just over 150 kilometers per hour.

Ulrich called Jeremie from his cell phone. "We've just gone through the Constellation Intersection," he reported to him.

"_Don't worry, guys, I've got you spotted now. But I still don't understand what XANA is trying to do…"_

Clementine leaned into the phone. "Odd managed to get off the bus, so he should be coming your way."

She can hear Jeremie typing onto the keyboard. Suddenly he gasped. "Clem, Ulrich! XANA is launching the bus on the petrochemical complex!"

"What?!" Ulrich exclaimed and Clementine gasped. "First, a nuclear power plant, and now this? We'll explode upon impact!"

They rushed to the front of the bus. Jim and the driver who continued to stop the bus to no avail.

"Jim, Jeremie thinks we're headed straight for the petrochemical plant," Ulrich informed the adults.

"You mind telling me how he knows that?" demanded the gym teacher.

"Uh, we can tell you that later," interrupted Clementine as she stepped forward, although it wouldn't matter. "But for now you just have to trust him. He can help us."

Jim rose from the ground. "Okay, okay."

Clementine smiled at Jim and turned around to meet Sissi, who looked regretful.

"Uh, Ulrich? I'm very sorry about your diary. It was wrong to take it," she apologized. "Please forgive me. Can I help in any way?" Clementine was shocked at her sudden humility and glanced at Ulrich. He was silent for a moment and before passing his phone to her.

"Here, take my phone," he told her, "You can be the go-between for Jeremie and us." She nodded at them with a smile.

The bus emerged from the tunnel and zoomed by a police car. Catching it breaking the speed limit, the police siren blared at the bus followed it.

"Guys, we got company!" the ginger reported to the front as more police cars tailed the bus.

"Jeremie says we're gonna turn left," Sissi informed Clementine and Ulrich.

"Alright, everyone over here with us!" Ulrich waved the students to the left side of the bus. The bus sharply turned left, and the sudden change in momentum still threw them to the windows of the bus. The shriek of the bus leaning too hard on the railing rang in the air, but it continued forward.

"Maybe we should jump off the bus, what do you think? Might just be the best idea, that way at least we won't go crashing into the petrochemical plant," Jim suggested to them.

Sissi glared at Jim. "At this speed, there's no way we could survive."

"Yeah, we'd be roadkill. Odd was lucky he escaped alive," Clementine agreed. Wait a minute, _agreed?_

Ulrich gestured for his phone and asked, "Jeremie, how are things on Lyoko?"

"_Aelita and Yumi are almost at the tower, except that they're caught in a sandstorm."_

"Okay, we'll wait a little while longer." Ulrich sets the phone down. "XANA's doing everything in his power to stop them from deactivating the tower," he told his ginger friend.

"They'll find a way, I'm sure of it. We'll win and this will end soon enough," Clementine reassured, although it was more to herself than the others.

She hated this. She hated being scared. Fear blocked out any rational thought, and she knew that pretty well. Without thinking straight, one could end up committing irreversible mistakes. Others could take advantage of fear, manipulating them and further contort their irrational thoughts-

Clementine shuddered and snapped out of her thoughts. _We __**will**_ _win. There's no need to be scared. _

"_You'll be reaching the complex in ten minutes. Careful, you're gonna turn left again."_

"Everyone to the left!" Sissi shouts, and they are tossed against the side of the bus again.

The number of police cars increased, but the bus didn't stop. XANA certainly didn't care as he led the bus through more turns.

"Listen, we only have four minutes left before we get to the complex. How are things on Lyoko?" Ulrich asked through the phone.

"_Okay, Aelita and Odd are handling it_."

"So Odd made it to the factory," grinned Clementine. "Good."

Ulrich glanced at the police cars before nodding to Jim, who destroyed the glass to the emergency hammer. He swung a little too hard on the window, though, and almost fell out of the bus and onto the street.

"What's the matter? Don't you like it here, Jim?" Ulrich teased as he and Clementine held up their teacher, although, given the situation, it fell flat.

"Oh no, we're gonna crash!" cried Sissi as the complex came closer into view.

"It's all over for us. It's too late!" wailed Ulrich as the bus sped through the security gates, passing through large structures… _and straight to a giant steel tank._

Clementine squeezed her eyes shut, hunkered down on the ground. _C'mon, c'mon! _But the explosion never came; the bus had stopped just inches from the tank.

* * *

It was now the morning before Sissi had blackmailed Ulrich into being her boyfriend Clementine could hear Ulrich ask Sissi, "Were you waiting for me? Looking for something?" After a pause she could hear the sound of footsteps fading away. Satisfied, Ulrich opened the door to his dorm and held up the diary in the air. Jeremie clapped as Odd and Clementine cheered for him.

"Yes!"


End file.
